14 "Must-See" Sunday School Bulletin Boards, Doors and More!

While the norm here on little illuminations is posting about our adventures in Pre-K, I have recently started teaching Sunday School. We've had a small team of angels (especially Kristy and Lori) that worked tirelessly to make our Sunday School rooms bright, energetic and inviting. The decor is just SO fabulous, that I had to share them here with you! 

Our Sunday School program is centered around stations that the children (ages K-5) rotate through on various weeks. Stations include art, drama/storytelling, science, games and cooking. We also have  nursery, preschool and middle school rooms.

I just love this rainbow and cloud! It makes the room such a cozy place for children to curl up with a book!

This cross is just beautiful! Made by placing tape in the shape of a cross and painting stripes of color over it. When dry, remove the tape. I want to make one of these to hang in my home!

I love this Noah's Ark wall mural! Even the youngest members of our church are blessed with gorgeous surroundings!

The theme in our art/cooking/science is "God is the Master Artist…Master Chef…Master Scientist…Master of All Creations".

Don't you just love this giant paint brush and palette in our art area?

These decorations in our cooking area are just too sweet!!!

In our drama room, this is a great way to "spotlight" our learning focus each week.

I love the Imagination Station! It just pops with color and creativity! The theme is "Gears...Setting our minds on God."

The pièce de résistance is this FABULOUS 3-D Albert Einstein bulletin board! 

We are SO blessed to have such creative folks leading the way for our Christian Education program! They have done such a wonderful job to make this an exciting and inviting space for our younger members of the church family. 

I love to hear your thoughts---share them in the comment section below! 

Brand New!

We started back to school earlier this month and everything seems BRAND NEW! The students are all new to Pre-K and some of them are new to the school. My assistant and I are BRAND NEW teachers to the students, even though we've been in the school for several years. I've changed our class mascot from fish to owls, so there are new owl decorations everywhere! There is just something about things being new that seems to make life just a little more exciting!

On the first day of school, I took pictures of the students that will go in a memory book for them at the end of the year. I posed them in front of one of the bulletin boards that will have seasonal changes, but basically remain the same. At the end of the year, we'll take another picture in the same place and be able to see how much they've changed and grown!

Also in the first week, I had each of them color a circle to decorate a large owl in our room. Later, these circles will be placed in their memory books, as well.

My classroom received a refurbishment grant this year to replace worn out materials and classroom supplies. One of the big things I got was a new rug! Isn't it bright and beautiful? It is humongous and has spots for everyone to have a little personal space.

We also got a few new bikes for our playground. I chose the "big wheel" style and they have been a big hit! There are always friends waiting for a turn!

I have wanted MagnaTile blocks for a long time, but frankly, they are very expensive and there are always so many other things I need. I was able to use some of the grant money to purchase a set. I am amazed at the creativity and imaginative things the children create with them. I picked the translucent blocks with the plan of using them with light box I'm making. They will look great when lit up, I think!

We got some new foam blocks that are great for building and perfect for use with the new animals we got for the block center!

Some of our dramatic play costumes had seen much better days. We ordered several new ones. This is the NASA astronaut uniform that we got! (It is especially nice paired with awesome cowboy boots! ;)

I love this little couch and chair set that we purchased with refurbishment funds! I broke the set up and now have a cozy spot to curl up with a book in reading center and added the sofa to our dramatic play area.

One of the things that was a combination of new and not-new was our old sensory table. It was so bulky that often I use big bins or a tabletop sensory table in the classroom. I repurposed our old bulky table to the playground for outdoor sensory fun. The kids are really enjoying having it outside!

Even the way the children are experimenting with familiar materials seems "brand new". Watching this new class explore in centers and try new techniques brings me a little joy each day.

I'm sure that as time goes by, these things will all become worn, well loved and lack their "new" appeal, but for now we are enjoying the discovery of "brand new"! I have a few more items that I haven't put out right away, just to savor the excitement of having something fresh for later on. Hope your "brand new" school year is off to a good start!

If you'd like to read more about our first day of Pre-K, hop on over to PreK+K Sharing and read "On The First Day of Pre-K..."

Golf Is For Kids, Too!

It's Master's week here in Augusta, Georgia!!! Every year, our town hosts one of the biggest golf tournaments worldwide. People come from all over the globe. Local folks rent their homes and take on extra jobs that support the tournament (parking cars, catering house cleaning, driving, etc.). All the schools here close, as we use this week area wide for our Spring Break week. Golf is a BIG business. I have to say that as a kid, I did not fully appreciate what all went into Tournament week.  

Golf is a great game of skill. Children can get into the swing of things by playing miniature golf.  I found these cute carrot golf clubs that we have been playing with. It's been a great way to practice eye hand coordination and gross motor skills! Plus, you can't go wrong with golf clubs that only cost $1!!!

             Picture borrowed from: Christie Dedman The Birmingham News
http://blog.al.com/bargain-mom/2012/03/carrot_golf_or_baseball_kits_a.html

I have some WONDERFUL families in our program! One of my moms told me about a great children's book, "Badges, Egg Salad and Green Jackets: Masters A to Z"  written by a local author, Julie Alfriend Ferris, about the Masters. When another mom discovered I didn't have a copy, she gave me a signed copy! It is a great way to acquaint children with golf and the Masters Tournament and is beautifully illustrated with watercolor paintings!

These photos don't do the book justice, but here's a little peek at a couple of my favorite pages:

Here's a video of our local news station interviewing the author about the book. If you or your kids are golf fans, I'm sure you'll want your own copy of "Badges, Egg Salad and Green Jackets: Masters A to Z". You may visit   Junebug Print  or like the "Masters A to Z by Julie Alfriend Ferris" page on facebook to learn more! 

Many of our classrooms have incorporated golf into their activities and decor. Here are 2 of the bulletin boards that classes in our school are sporting!

Happy golfing! 

Lorax Door Decor

In honor of Seuss week, we have lots of fun activities planned. This is the door to our classroom that welcomed our students last year. I plan to decorate similarly this year. The eyes sort of "float" on the window, attached to pleated paper. 

I took pool noodles and craft tissue to make a couple of truffela trees to line the hallway. 

The children will make lots of Seuss inspired art this week, I'm sure and our walls inside will be decorated with it, but I wanted to give them a little inspiration to get them started!

Happy birthday, Dr. Suess!!!!!!!

Valentine's Day Bulletin Boards 2014

I get TONS of emails and comments about all of my bulletin board posts, so I wanted to share some of my bulletin boards (and some from other classes, as well) for Valentine's Day!

Head Over Heels for You

Pre-K Valentine Tree

Catch The Love Bug

Sweet Treats

Sealed With A Kiss

Sending Love

Sweethearts Candy

We Love Our Class

Jump Rope 4 Heart

Fun Window Decorations

Love Bugs

Bee Mine

Hanging Hearts

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